The perch is sourced regionally and has a crackly outer skin that yields to incredibly flaky flesh within.
At 11.30am on a Friday, Lad & Dad in Kuala Lumpur is relatively quiet. One or two tables are occupied but nothing to raise blood pressure levels and certainly nothing that portends the flood of humans that will soon arrive.
Because by noon, the restaurant is out-of-control packed – each table absolutely heaving and swollen to capacity. Outside, a long, snaking queue has formed and eager would-be diners can be seen craning their necks in the hope of getting a table soon-ish.
It’s quite mad really. Who would have thought a fish and chips restaurant would have such a strong pull?
Well, owner Keith Koh did. Which isn’t all that surprising once you realise that Koh is a veteran in the business of proving his dissenters wrong.
“More than 10 years ago, I was in Britain studying and I worked in hospitality. In the final year of my degree course, I decided I wanted to start an F&B business. But with the little savings that I had, I could only afford a hawker stall in Singapore.
“I had a big argument with my dad and I eventually convinced him to give me two years to get the business going. So I registered a company together with him so that he could see the books and basically get a sense of assurance – hence the name, Lad & Dad,” says Koh.
Koh (left) started Lad & Dad with his father Desmond Koh who now helps him manage the eatery in Singapore.
He first ran a food stall in one of Singapore’s ubiquitous food courts, serving up old-school English fare like Yorkshire puddings, mashed potatoes and lamb stew.
He says the decision to serve these was driven by a desire to be different.
“The whole idea wasn’t just for me to be in F&B, but to introduce a whole dining experience.
"English food has never been top of the list when it comes to international cuisine – it’s always Italian or Spanish or something else. So I felt that the market for English food was still raw back then,” explains Koh, adding that he also wanted his food to be affordable.
The eatery is perpetually packed and often boasts long, teeming queues during lunch hour.
Interestingly, for the first year, fish and chips wasn’t even on the menu as it took Koh that entire year to figure out how to make the best possible version of it. He received valuable feedback from his parents.
“When I first developed my recipe in Britain in the dorms, my local housemates were my focus group and they really liked my recipe.
“But when I brought it back for my mum and dad to try, they were like ‘There’s no way this would fly in this part of the world’. They told me outright that there wasn’t enough flavour or depth to it.
“I thought I had the perfect recipe, but then I spent a year trying to get it right. In the end, I think it was a good thing we waited that long because when we finally got the right one, it took off immediately,” he says.
So why open in Malaysia? Koh says an opportunity presented itself last year and he opened in Wisma Cosway in KL to great reception and serpentine queues.
Unfortunately, things fell apart and he ended up having to close shop. But demand from fans in Malaysia proved overwhelming so this year, he decided to reopen Lad & Dad at another lot in the same building.
The secret to the restaurant’s success is in its fish batter, which is made using a wide range of herbs and spices. — Photos: Lad & Dad KL
The location choice is a little perplexing as most new restaurants typically launch in more salubrious neighbourhoods or upscale malls. Yet, Koh says the bare-bones building that the eatery is housed in really resonates with the brand’s unassuming roots.
“The malls have been knocking on our doors, but rental at these malls is like RM50,000 to RM60,000. And we are still only a small family business.
“We felt that to come full circle in our 10-year anniversary, we wanted to pay homage to our hawker stall roots and continue to make our fish and chips affordable. No way can we sell it at our current prices if we were paying RM50,000 in rent.
“Which means fewer people will be able to eat it and that defeats the purpose again,” says Koh.
At Lad & Dad here, fish and chips reigns supreme. There are only two fish options – Norwegian haddock or perch sourced from the region.
On the chips front, you can opt to have thick-cut or the more popular thin-cut fries. Served alongside this are a selection of sauces like classic tartar sauce, mushy peas, malt vinegar, curry sauce and the KL-exclusive sambal aioli.
Each order of fish and chips comes with a choice of two sauce accompaniments.
The perch is sourced regionally and has a crackly outer skin that yields to incredibly flaky flesh within.
Start with the Classic Perch Fish & Chips (RM29.90). The batter that took Koh over a year to perfect is made up of a range of proprietary herbs and spices like salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, paprika and other ingredients that cannot be disclosed.
But trust me when I say that all the hard work was oh-so worth it. Because this is a fish that has been battered and fried to absolute perfection and retains a crispy, crackly carapace that is an absolute auditory and sensory delight.
The batter itself is laced with a multi-dimensional flavour profile – there is a herbaceous underlay and a touch of spice gilding its core structure and this is what gives it an edge over conventional fish and chips. Each mouthful delivers a power-packed textural odyssey – first landing on a brittle crunch that then segues into sweet, tender flesh within.
If you’re opting for the thin-cut fries to accompany your fish, you’ll marvel at how each long spud baton is crisp on the outside yet succumbs willingly to starchy innards that are insanely addictive.
From the sauce selection, the classic tartar sauce delivers a creamy yet lightly acerbic counterpoint to the fried fish while the sambal aioli hits all those spicy high notes and then some.
Opt for the Norwegian haddock with thin cut fries if you want to indulge in a crispy, crunchy, flaky, voluptuous slice of fish.
If you’re opting to indulge, then sample the Premium Haddock Fish & Chips (RM51.90). The haddock is extraordinarily good – a fat, voluptuous slice of fish with flaky, voluminous flesh that is the gift that keeps on giving. Pair this with the thick-cut fries and enjoy the sumptuous, hedonistic journey to nirvana.
Wash down all this goodness with the House Made Lemonade (RM9.90) which is made with freshly squeezed lemons and is a potent citrus siren designed to sluice through the richness of the fish and chips with lethal efficiency.
Moving forward, Koh says there are already plans afoot for expansion in the Klang Valley and beyond.
“Expansion is definitely in the works. But we want to take it slow. We want to make sure we find the right group of people to work with,” he concludes.
